Unplanned urban growth: land use/land cover change in the Guwahati Metropolitan Area, India

Abstract Unplanned urban growth, particularly in developing countries has led to changes in land use/land cover (LULC). Numerous Indian cities face problems of unplanned LULC change due to nominal or non-existent planning efforts compounded by rapid urban population growth. The Guwahati Metropolitan Area (GMA) is one such urban centre. The present study assesses the trajectories of LULC change using Landsat imageries acquired in 1976, 1989, 2002 and 2015. Natural and semi natural vegetated area and artificial and natural water bodies decreased while built-up areas, cultivated and managed areas, and natural and semi natural non-vegetated areas increased. The built-up area increased from 23.9 in 1976 to 115.1 km2 in 2015 becoming the dominant land cover class accounting for 41.8% of the total geographical area. During this period, natural and semi natural vegetated land were reduced by 88.9 km2 at an annual rate of 2.2 km2. Over the years there was an increasing trend of built-up land and cultivated and managed areas in the peripheral areas of the city while natural and semi natural vegetated land diminished. Consequently, as in many other developing countries, there is an urgent need for the governmental authorities and other stakeholders to implement effective urban planning policies.